April 5, 2016

spring and then winter

We’ve had crazy weather for April. I was ready for spring. Well, the flowers and birds and my garden were ready too. Now we have 6 inches of snow on top of the spring plants. And icy temperatures in the 20sF. These are my photos, first of spring on April 2nd, then the return of winter on April 3rd. My peas were sprouting, so I covered them with old oak leaves. My garlic is 6 inches high. At least the snow will insulate it. My winter tunnel will be fine.…

April 3, 2016

the swallows are here!

The swallows are here!! We got 3 inches of heavy wet snow overnight and everything is white. But there are swallows all over the place! I love to to see them swooping and soaring over the pond. Someone asked for pictures. So I did my best a couple days later. It’s pretty hard to photograph a swallow in flight. And it was too cold for me to try too long. This is what I got. One of the blurry swallow photos caught the mute swan pair in the background.

April 2, 2016

my seedlings

April 2, 2016

spring is coming

This week: forsythia, magnolias, chionodoxa, and daffodils are beginning to bloom. Lilac leaves are opening. A pair of chickadees is building a nest outside my window. I hear their spring song “dee-dee”. I hear “old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody”. The swan pair on the pond is chasing Canada geese and little ring-necked ducks have gone on their migration further north.

April 1, 2016

my seedling shelves today

My shelves are tucked in the corner of my garage this year. It stays about 60F out there. I think this low temp will be good for the seedlings. I’m thinking they’ll grow a bit slower and end up a bit stockier and less leggy than when they were indoors at 70F. We’ll see. Here’s the list of what I’ve planted so far: my 2016 planting list. I’m having more trouble than usual with failed germination this year. It’s the old seed. I’m noting the ones that don’t come up…

March 31, 2016

cilantro soy pork meatballs (with kale or bok choi)

This is SOOO good I had to share the recipe. I made it earlier in the winter with bok choy from my winter tunnel. Last night I made it again with kale that I sauteed with garlic and sesame seeds. Last night I also used cilantro fresh picked from my tunnel. That cilantro is amazing! I’ve never grown such flavorful cilanto with big green leaves. It overwintered very well. The recipe is partly from Shrinking Singles Pork Meatballs with Ginger Soy here. I’m sure the local pork I used from…

March 30, 2016

updates are out for Skippy’s planting apps

Updates are out for many of our calendar apps, including Skippy’s: Vegetable Planting Calendar Spring Planting Calendar Fall Planting Calendar Of course, if you have these apps, you already know this, because the updates show up automatically at the Apple App Store. Updates for our Flower & Herb Calendar and the Winter Calendar will be out soon. The update corrects the reminders function so it works with any iOS version. Note: If any apps freeze after installing an update, just delete the app and reinstall it from the app store.…

March 30, 2016

seedlings trays

These are the seedling trays I’m using this year. 1. I plant most of my seeds in 2″ x 3″ thin plastic pots, 24 per tray: I’ve planted in plastic 6-packs for many years. I’ve made 100s of paper pots and I’ve used peat pots. But these are what I’ve come to like. I like them better than plastic 6-packs because I can plant fewer seeds of more varieties. Also it’s easier to give away one or two pots than to cut apart a 6-pack. They are thin plastic, but…

March 22, 2016

pollen in my honey – questions

I used a metal honey strainer the last two times I prepared honey. I found that the honey ends up less clear, more particulates in it. I think the particulates are pollen. Is this a good reason for using a metal strainer? Pollen in the honey is good! The other explanation for my pollinated honey is that the honey I prepared with a cloth strainer last fall was from a honey super, while honey I prepared recently was from frames at the edges of brood boxes. Do bees add as…

March 22, 2016

bee with early spring pollen

This is one of my bees with the light yellow pollen that I think is willow pollen.

weeks and counting until my last spring frost

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